Anya Saugstad premieres Paper Mountains at Dance In Vancouver, November 23

In full-length work, five dancers explore paradoxical themes through vigorous physicality

*Paper Mountains.* Photo by Bray Jorstad

The Dance Centre presents Anya Saugstad’s Paper Mountains on November 23 at 8 pm at the Scotiabank Dance Centre as part of Dance In Vancouver

CHOREOGRAPHER ANYA SAUGSTAD’S Paper Mountains sees five dancers whirl vigorously through space.

Originally devised during the pandemic as a byproduct of uncertainty, Paper Mountains has since evolved into an examination of paradoxes in the face of the climate crisis: think sorrow and celebration, strength and lightness, surrender and resilience. When Stir spoke to Saugstad in 2023 for our annual Fall Arts Guide, she had crafted hundreds of paper airplanes for the piece, adding that “the paper plane had this really nice theme of flight, of lightness, and of going”.

Though the planes won’t be present on-stage in this full-length version of the work, they inspired its soaring sense of urgency. Last year, Paper Mountains secured The Dance Centre’s biennial Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award, which provides a young dance artist with up to $5,000 for the production of a new work. As a result, Saugstad is now premiering the piece at this year’s Dance In Vancouver showcase put on by The Dance Centre.

Paper Mountains features dancers Eowynn Enquist, Nasiv Sall, Oksana Maslechko, Sarah Hutton, and Shion Skye Carter, with a soundtrack by Stefan Nazarevich and Amanda Sum, and lighting design by Andie Lloyd. The piece marks Saugstad’s second premiere as of late; she and her sister, theatre artist Sophie Saugstad, also debuted their interdisciplinary collaboration Gravity in Your Eyes at Dancing on the Edge in June.

Audiences can catch Paper Mountains at the Scotiabank Dance Centre on November 23 at 8 pm. Directly afterward, Dance in Vancouver will conclude with a 9:30 pm performance of Soft Currents by Vanessa Goodman’s company Action at a Distance.

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Emily Lyth

Stir editorial assistant Emily Lyth is a Vancouver-based writer and editor who graduated from Langara College’s Journalism program. Her decade of dance training and passion for all things food-related are the foundation of her love for telling arts, culture, and community stories.

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